New Horizon - Issue 3 - Agriculture

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West Amesbury Farms buy intothe Amazone technologyPhilip Sawkill, West Amesbury Farms “withthe majority of the autumn cereals plantedagain this year, its flexibility in terms ofcoping with both wet and dry conditionshas proved itself once again.”‘By maximising inputs by the use of technology, we haveseen a pleasing increase in returns,’ confides Philip Sawkillof West Amesbury Farms, ‘We have taken on boardsoil mapping for seed rates and base fertilisers plus alsoapplying variable rate N by measuring GAL levels as ameans of matching inputs to soils’.With around 1,500 acres on the chalk downs with a high flintcontent, the farm is split into roughly 1/3 spring and 2/3 autumncropping; the rotation consisting of winter wheat, oilseed rape,beans and spring barley. With both digestate and seweragesludge applied in rotation, soil nutrient levels are on the increase,as is soil workability, and so any subsequent applications have tobe based on actual requirements - both to keep costs down aswell preventing lodging and excessive grain nitrogen content.The farm utilises a system of leaving a stale seedbed toencourage volunteer growth and then mixing and looseningwith the TopDown at around 10-15 cm before going in withthe Cayena which is linked to a seed rate map in the GreenStar2630. ‘On the drilling front, we have been running a 6-metreCayena tine seeder now for many years as we love its easypull, consistency of planting depth control and the ideal seedcoverage’, adds Philip, and, with the majority of the autumncereals planted again this year, its flexibility in terms of copingwith both wet and dry conditions has proved itself once again.‘We have evened up plant numbers by the use of variable ratedrilling and we have found those even plant stands considerablyeasier to manage as well as seeing improving yields’. And, asthe new drill has now the option of fertiliser, the farm can startto use targeted P application, either as TSP or DAP in wintercereals and rape as well as adding a starter application of NPKin spring barley.Buying into technology was also the policy adopted on thefertiliser spreader and so, when the old ZA-M Ultra Profis wasdue for a change, a new ZA-TS was suggested by local dealer,Hunt Forest Group. Five years on, the technology has proved itsworth with part-width shut-off via the SectionControl software inthe GreenStar controlling the ins and outs on the headland toprevent over and under-spread, as well as the twin weigh cell andtilt sensor combo looking after the accuracy of application rate.‘We work on 30-metre tramlines and it doesn’t seem to matterwhat material we put in the hopper the evenness of spread isalways spot on and the other big advantage of the ZA-TS is that,before, we were seeing the crop tailing off at the hedge sideswith the border spread Limiter on the old ZA-M Ultra.However, with the current AutoTS system, the crop is level rightthrough to the boundary and this has shown up in the yields.’ Asalready mentioned, the spreader is also being used for targetapplying fertiliser, ‘We are using a mixture of soil mappingto generate P & K maps along with doing variable rate N inconjunction with SOYL’s satellite imagery maps so again wehave maximised the use of our fertiliser inputs,’ Philip concludes‘From our point of view the kit that we have bought has beenfundamental in improving returns’ .16 HUNTFOREST.COM
We push the boundaries of spreadingto make your fertiliser go furtherAccuracy and precision in spreadingdoesn’t start in the field - it starts herein the Amazone technical laboratory.Consider, for example, the peace of mind generated byArgusTwin, where its radar sensors constantly monitorthe spread pattern as it leaves the disc and, if the fertiliserproperties change and the pattern loses its accuracy,then the delivery system adjusts automatically to get thedistribution precisely back on track.After all, we should know - we have been at it formore than 100 years!EasySet 2 helps improve theaccuracy of the application ratewww.amazone.co.ukGenuine Kuhn Parts Availablefrom the Hunt Forest GroupGenuine Kuhn parts are available from all Hunt Forest Group branches.Ask our parts department for more detailsHUNTFOREST.COM 17
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New Horizon - Issue 3 - Agriculture

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